Anyone pruning plants in their garden in March urged to follow Monty Don’s ‘one only rule’

Gardening expert Monty Don has shared his “only one rule to follow” when pruning six popular plants this month for vibrant blooms this spring

Angela Patrone Senior Lifestyle Reporter

04:01, 01 Mar 2026

Anyone pruning plants in their garden in March urged to follow Monty Don’s ‘one only rule’(Image: Tuangtong via Getty Images)

Pruning stands as a vital gardening task for controlling growth, shaping plants, encouraging flowering or fruiting stems for the upcoming season, and, most importantly, removing dead, damaged or diseased parts of plants. Gardening guru Monty Don emphasises that effective pruning must be undertaken at the appropriate time, which varies depending on the plant type, and should follow “one rule”.

In his March gardening tasks blog post, Monty provided advice on the timing and technique for pruning plants this month. He suggested using extremely sharp and sterilised secateurs, sometimes called shears.

The most commonly employed tool for this purpose is bypass secateurs, which function like scissors with one slender and one thicker cutting blade. They cause minimal damage to the stem, making them ideal for trimming living plants and lighter tasks such as cutting flowers.

Gardeners might also employ kitchen scissors for plants with soft stems, though these must be meticulously cleaned to avoid introducing infection, which could kill the plant.

The most frequently used tool for pruning is bypass secateurs(Image: welcomia via Getty Images)

Monty noted that the opening fortnight of March represents the “best time to prune any shrubs and climbers” that will flower on new growth, particularly late-flowering clematis, roses and buddleia.

The horticultural authority remarked that he prefers to undertake this when he “starts to see new shoots appearing”.

Gardeners are advised to “resist the temptation to do so” if February proves mild, as a late frost could damage any emerging growth. Shrubs including cornus, willow and sambucus can be drastically trimmed to promote fresh growth, which will “glow with extra bright colour next winter”.

Monty stated that the first fortnight of March is the “best time to prune any shrubs and climbers” (Image: Galina Zhigalova via Getty Images)

As mentioned previously, Monty insists there’s “only one rule to follow” when pruning, and that’s to “always cut back to something”, whether it’s a side shoot or leaf bud.

Beyond that, the 70-year-old encouraged gardeners not to fret about outward-facing buds or other technicalities.

Monty explained that the purpose of pruning, following his rule, is to “encourage vigorous new growth that will, in turn, produce lots of flowers”.

For climbing types such as the Viticella group of clematis, pruning aims to prevent flowers from appearing higher and higher up the plant, leaving the bottom section bare.